1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dual mode document feeder and more particularly to a feeder for automatic and manual feeding of documents to microfilming and/or other document processing apparatus. The feeder of the invention is easy to use and facilitates rapid and efficient feeding of documents, while being highly reliable and trouble-free in operation, and it is relatively simple in construction, readily adjustable to obtain optimum results and is economically manufacturable.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Prior art types of microfilming and other copying or document processing apparatus oftentimes incorporate automatic feed mechanisms which are designed for feeding documents one-by-one from a stack of documents but which allow manual insertion of a single document on top of a stack which is positioned for automatic feed to allow it to be advanced by the automatic mechanism in place the top document of the stack. This and other similar types of manual feed operations are sometimes difficult to achieve and oftentimes leads to feeding of two or more documents at once and paper jams, the feeding mechanism being primarily designed for automatic feed operations.
Another type of feeder of the prior art requires removal or installation of a feeder mechanism when changing between manual and automatic feed operations. In some feeders, separate manual and automatic document feeder mechanisms may be provided, one being completely removed from the machine and the other being installed when the operator wishes to change between a manual mode and an automatic feed mode. Typically, the automatic feed mechanisms of such feeders may receive power either mechanically from a gear drive inside the copying machine or from a drive mechanism inside the document feeder itself. When the automatic feeder is not in use, the feeder is removed and stored off of the copying machine. This type of feeder has been generally satisfactory when proper care is exercised and has been used extensively. However, it is expensive, not easy to use and is not without reliability and maintenance problems.